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Bernhard Kerres
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Be Your Own Manager: A Career Handbook for Classical Musicians Kindle Edition

by Bernhard Kerres (Author), Bettina Mehne (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 37 ratings
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Be You Own Manager is a career handbook for classical musicians, singers, conductors, and others making music their profession. The book contains the basics in understanding the business side of the industry for both young as well as experienced classical musicians. It contains chapters on marketing, how to use social media, fee negotiations and much more. Every chapter includes practical examples to make it both easily understandable and implementable.

The book starts with a discussion on what makes a musician special and stand out in a crowd, and how to communicate that presence. This is the core of building a successful career. Later in the book, Bernhard and Bettina discuss how to build a recognizable digital presence, including website tips and how to do a newsletter the right way. The book also includes a chapter on what visual materials should look like, what crowdfunding is, and how to publish that all important first album.
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The book aims to cover all aspects that are critical for the self-management of classical musicians. It will be written to be a good read at any level, but also be written to serve as a reference when musicians come across certain opportunities in their career.
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  1. Print length
    163 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publication date
    June 8, 2017
  5. File size
    926 KB
  6. Page Flip
    Enabled
  7. Word Wise
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  8. Enhanced typesetting
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Bernhard Kerres fell in love with classical music starting in early childhood. Living in Vienna, he was brought up with the Vienna Philharmonic and the Vienna State Opera. He started his career as an opera singer and sang, among other places, in the studio of the Opera Zurich with José Carreras, Agnes Baltsa and others. Later following his interest in technology, he joined the strategy consulting firm Booz & Co after his MBA at London Business School. From there he was recruited into C-level positions of two large European tech firms. He served on the board of classical music institutions and advised them before he was named CEO and Artistic Director (Intendant) of the Wiener Konzerthaus in 2007, which he led for six years. In 2013, he followed his dream combining his passion for classical music with his fascination for technology, and founded HELLO STAGE, the largest classical music community online.Bernhard was awarded the Austrian Cross for Science and Art and the Chilean Bernardo O'Higgins Order. Bernhard regularly speaks and publishes on innovation, entrepreneurship and leadership.Bettina Mehne descends from a violin maker's family in Berlin. She studied musicology and history of Art alongside working in the offices of the Deutsche Symphonie-Orchester Berlin and the Berliner Festwochen. Upon graduation, she joined the touring department of Harrison Parrott in London. In 1999, she opened the German office of Van Walsum Management within the Konzertdirektion Schmid before joining Die Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen in 2001 as their Artistic Manager. Having headed the artistic planning at the Wiener Konzerthaus for six seasons, Bettina left at the end of the 2012/13 season together with the then Intendant Bernhard Kerres to cofound with him the new venture HELLO STAGE.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0712282DJ
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ BookBaby; 1st edition (June 8, 2017)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ June 8, 2017
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 926 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 163 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 37 ratings

About the author

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Bernhard Kerres

Bernhard Kerres

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An Opera Singer in Silicon Valley - Bernhard Kerres brings classical music, technology and management together. The founder of HELLO STAGE, the LinkedIn for classical musicians, just wrote a career handbook for classical musicians.

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
37 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Zenaida
5.0 out of 5 stars Essential reading for classical musicians who want to be successful
Reviewed in the United States on June 11, 2017
Verified Purchase
The newest and very comprehensive guide to the business side of career management for musicians (be they singers, conductors, instrumentalists or composers). Kerres and Mehne founded Hello Stage in 2013 (an online platform for musicians to promote themselves) and have gathered in-depth and practical tips, tools and strategies for classical musicians to assess, review and advance their careers. Even if a classical musician has an agent, this book will give him/her an overview of all the various aspects that are essential in today's market to be successful. What makes this book very readable are the many real-life examples and case-studies that the authors use in order to illustrate their points.
One person found this helpful
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Robert A. Margo
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on August 29, 2017
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Very useful book.
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Mari Adachi
5.0 out of 5 stars This is not only a how-to book!
Reviewed in the United States on June 8, 2017
I highly recommend reading this book for people who are classical musicians, managers, promoters and even classical music lovers/fans. You would really appreciate for the great authors, Bernhard and Bettina that they wrote so much details to make your career better from their rich experiences with amazing stars in the world.
Knowing what is actually happening in the classical music field would help you not only pushing your career forward but also bringing you back to your personal dream. This book gives you plenty of ideas but they are not only to be followed. They actually encourage you to find your own way, to be creative for your life. "Success" means totally different to each of us. But just "dreaming" doesn't help anything. After reading this book, you might know what you actually want to do.
3 people found this helpful
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Cliente Amazon
5.0 out of 5 stars I am pretty sure my son will benefit from their precious advice
Reviewed in the United States on June 9, 2017
As the mother of a young musician finishing his Undergraduate studies and starting planning a career in music, I backed the edition of this book by two experienced authors whom I have been following on the Internet for quite a while. I am pretty sure my son will benefit from their precious advice. This is a unique guide indeed and I recommend it as I recommend all other initiatives Bernhard Kerres takes on the web. I have been involved in different projects related to classical music (as an author most of the time), working with musicians and record labels since 1999, and I do believe this is THE book to start or refresh the management of a music career today.
One person found this helpful
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anna L
5.0 out of 5 stars This book is a must-read for launching a performance career in the classical music business!
Reviewed in the United States on June 9, 2017
If you're looking to launch a conducting or solo career in the classical music world, this book is a must-read! Written by the former leadership team of the Vienna Konzerthaus, it spells out in detail all the steps you need to follow and the pitfalls to avoid for developing a performance career. Learn how to master all the nuts and bolts of the business side without needing your own manager. You'll take your career into your own hands and never look back!
2 people found this helpful
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Soprano from Vienna
5.0 out of 5 stars An absolute must
Reviewed in the United States on July 16, 2017
Finally a book that talks about the business side of being a classical performer in today's technological and social media focused world. Whether you are already an established professional or just getting started, this book is an incredibly helpful guide to navigating the struggles we performers face TODAY. Get this book!
One person found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Must have!
Reviewed in the United States on June 27, 2017
Not only for the young musician - it provides a wide range of ideas of how you can make your goals coming true. It gives you an idea of what you can do by yourself rather than waiting for somebody else going to do it for you. Must have!
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salzburg
5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Have for Classical Musicians
Reviewed in the United States on June 8, 2017
Bernhard Kerres and Bettina Mehne share their lifelong experience of working in classical music and building careers of classical musicians. The book is a useful and practical guide for any musician - young or established - to build their career in the 21st century.
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Top reviews from other countries

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Daniel Felicio
5.0 out of 5 stars Ein tolles Buch für die Talente der klassischen Musik, die ihren Weg nach vorne selber gestalten wollen
Reviewed in Germany on November 26, 2017
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Wer den Anspruch hat, klassische Musik auf hohem Niveau zu spielen, weiß wie schwer es ist sichtbar zu werden unter den vielen tollen Talenten weltweit. Aber mit diesem Buch findet man genau die praktischen Ratschläge aus der Praxis, die man auch umsetzen kann. Das Buch ist außerdem durch die vielen konkreten Beispielen und guten Erläuterungen leicht und angenehm zu lesen.
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5.0 out of 5 stars Very worthwhile read for all musicians
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 28, 2017
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Good advice all round and up to date with modern developments in the industry. Very useful and thought provoking... thank you!
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Sinead Hayes
5.0 out of 5 stars Priceless advice clearly and concisely presented
Reviewed in Germany on August 26, 2017
Verified Purchase
In this great handbook Bernhard and Bettina present a clear, practical roadmap to help build a sustainable career as a classical musician. Inspiring and invaluable advice sits alongside regular, gentle reality checks. Looking forward to applying the ideas to my own portfolio career!!
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